If you have a missing child, you should do
the following immediately:

Contact local law enforcement division of crimes against children unit and inform them of the situation.

Request from law enforcement that your child be entered into National Crime and Information Center (N.C.I.C.).

Register your child with the following clearing houses:

Child Protection Education of America: 1-866-USA-CHILD

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: 1-800-843-5678

Try to remain calm. A calm head will help you remember details around the time of your child’s disappearance. Getting these details written down as soon as possible and giving them to the authorities could prove to be crucial in solving your child’s case.

Once your child has been located, remember to call or email all persons involved in the search. Also, don’t forget the posters that might have been placed in the community.

Missing children fall under one of four categories:

It is important for the parent to honestly consider what has happened to their child. If you recently had an argument with your child or if your child’s best friend had an argument with their parents (sometimes children will convince each other to runaway because it is perceived as “safer”) then you would consider the possibility that your child is a runaway.

If a friend of the family acts weird or some slightly peculiar incident happens around the time of your child’s disappearance then you need to consider the possibility that your child is missing as a result of a non-family abduction. After consideration, select the catagories above for additional information.

Runaways

Runaways can become victims of sexual exploitation, child pornography, prostitution, drugs and/or crime. The first 48 hours are important for both child and parent.

First contact your child’s friends, neighbors, school, relatives, anyone or anyplace that your child frequents. Ask if they have seen your child or where they think your child would have gone.

Acquire your child’s missing poster from either from either The Child Connection, or either national clearinghouse (National Center For Missing and Exploited Children or Missing Children’s Help Center) Post your child’s poster in those frequented areas and in areas in and around your community that offer the most exposure. It is very important that you keep track where you post the posters so that you can remove them if and when your child is found.

Non-Custodial Abductions

Non-Custodial Parent abductions are the most common form of child abductions. This area also has a high recovery rate but this does not mean that the child is not in danger. It is a common misconception that a child taken by a parent will be okay. This is simply not true. Some parents are capable of killing a child for no other reason than “If I can’t have them nobody can!”

A large percentage of these abductions are recovered because personal information about the abducting parent is known: Social Security Number, Make, model and year of car, Job skills and etc. Be prepared to give this kind of information to authorities.

The Federal Parent Locator Service also assists in locating these individuals. For more information contact The Child Connection by phone.

Non-Family and Stranger Abductions

Time is a very important factor in all child abductions but it is especially important in non-family and stranger abductions. These abductions are not as common as Runaway or Non-Custodial Abductions but they have a higher percentage that end in tragedy. In these The Child Connection can and will assist even in dated cases (cases older than 10 years).

How Can The Child Connection Help?

The Child Connection is here to offer support. You can contact us by phone at (502) 459-6888. We have a 24 hour emergency line that will forward your call to our pager. You will get immediate response if you leave your name, phone number, and situation(parental or stranger abduction, runaway, etc). In order for us to become involved in the case, several steps will need to be completed.

You must sign a recovery release form. This allows us to begin the investigation.

You should also contact Law Enforcement and request The Child Connection’s involvement.

After speaking with law enforcement, we will need the law enforcement contact name, phone number, and name of law enforcement agency.

We will also need a copy of the Missing Person’s Report.

In parental abductions, you must furnish proof of felony warrant and your attorney’s name and phone number. If you have any questions, concerns or comments, please send us email at childk-9@iglou.com or mail us. Remember though, if you want to be guaranteed an immediate response you must call us at

Prevention

A child abduction can occur anytime, anywhere, to any race or to either sex. No one is immune to this problem. The first and foremost line of defense is education. It is not realistic to believe that we can watch our child(ren) all of the time. We must educate and empower our children so they will not become victims.

Start with going over the Stranger Safety Tips with your child. These will give you and your child the basics. Remember that you will need to go over them often – once a year is not enough. We recommend going over the tips at least once every three months for younger children.

The Child Connection recommends that parents create and maintain a Child Identification Box. Keep it in a safe and secure area that you will remember. It should contain the following items.

Current Photos – updated every 6 months.

Fingerprints – taken by a licensed professional (ex. Sheriff’s Department)

Keep a list of the names, addresses and phone numbers of your child’s friends

Don’t put your child’s name on his/her clothes, books or any exterior objects because this allows the stranger to get verbally intimate with your child. Also make sure your child’s school does not do this on field trips. Use colors numbers and teachers name instead.